Aaja NachleOoh cool! Houston, we have a graphic (made it out to look like an old Hindi movie poster). Ah, the pressing demands on bloggers, as the blogosphere becomes more and more competitive. We need to commercialize our act, you see. But we all have our limits. Loyal Evolutionists, you will not see RevEv going to vicious lows to stay afloat. Never!!
Btw, this post is brought to you in part by Neneh Cherry's comeback brigade.
Talking of comebacks, Ms Dixit and her F'american accent are back with Aaja Nachle. The most interesting part about this movie, at least to me, is that the music is by devilish-duo Salim-Suleiman, barring the fact that the two have been extremely 'hit and miss' over the last few years. The magical formula that they mixed in Dor and Kaal, was balanced off by the lackluster trash that was "Neal 'n' Nikki".
But right from the "Jaago Zara" (remember Viva? My Gaad, the yindian Spicy Gerrils!) days, these dudes have been capable of coming out with an alternative spin on traditional tunes. And that claim to fame trickles over, slightly, into Aaja Nachle.
Emphasis: slightly
While most of the album comes across as a little contorted at first listen, one may be tempted to give it the "situational" verdict (i.e. you may start to like the soundtrack after you watch the movie). In the case of Aaja Nachle, the likelihood of such an occurrence is extremely feeble.
Two songs that do stand out are the ever-so-deeply-titled romantic ballads, "Ishq Hua" and "Is Pal". Although the latter does come across to be too heavy on electronica-based gimmickery, with a little too many and unnecessary instruments pitching in with interludes, both songs are rather solid in terms of overall composition and singing (Sonu and Shreya). Prefer the former. Koi paththar se naa maare is plain, very reminiscent-by-raag of B. Sagoo's Tum Bin Jiya. Lesser said about the rest of the tracks, the better (especially when they have titles like 'Show me your Jalwa').
One interesting thing that stands out noticeably in the album is the solid vocal performances across the album. One of the few times that one notices that the singing is better than the composition, pretty uniformly across the album. However, there is one stark exception.
Coup De Grace: Without doubt, and as I continue to build towering respect for the phenomenal Rahat Fateh Ali Khan who has yet to prove me wrong with a less-than-brilliant song in his entire Bollywood stint, the musical star of this soundtrack for me is (not the peppy dance tracks - as those are short-lived for the club-night-highs) O Re Piya.
Clocking in at 6 minutes 19 seconds, the song is patiently long, but it has one of the most unique flows I have ever heard. That of a light-Qawwali love-ballad, like never before.
This musical piece blatantly eliminates the earlier proposed excuse. It is a completely situational track, but yet, one can still appreciate every single aspect of it. In terms of composition, the highlights are: (1) Rahat's vocal movements - an inspiration to every singer out there (2) The pure Qawwali tangent that the song digresses on (with vocals, percussion and sarangi) (3) The string ensemble that kicks in at 5:37. Wow!
To truly, truly appreciate this song, and its consummate composition and each intricate element - recommend you listen to it, first thing in the morning, on a pair of bass-enhanced Koss or B&O headphones, over a cup of strong coffee. Ah, bliss.
Final Verdict
Buy the Album (or) Selectively Download: Selectively Download
Umm, the pay-to-download variety, of course .. (nervous laughter a la Peter Griffin)
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